A user may work on an item using a host application and then decide to take some action with respect to the item that is not supported by the host application. For example, the user may create a product brochure using a host word processing application. The user may then decide to physically produce the brochure in some form that is not supported by the host word processing application and the environment in which in which it operates. For instance, perhaps the user wishes to print the brochure as a high-quality glossy publication. The host application may interact with a group of output devices, such as printers, fax machines, etc. However, the host application, together with its available output devices, may not have adequate resources to handle the user's printing request.
To address this situation, the user may attempt to find a partner service that can process the document item in the desired manner. The user can locate a partner service in the traditional manner, such as by researching available partner services listed in paper-based directories, network-accessible directories, and so forth. The user may also seek the advice of others, such as by talking to colleagues within her office, reading network-accessible customer reviews, and so forth. Upon selecting a partner service, the user may manually contact the partner service and explain the task to be performed. In some cases, the user may be asked to manually provide the partner service with whatever resources it needs to complete the task, such as a document item file. Finally, when the task is finished, the user may be asked to manually pick up the final product. The user may or may not be satisfied with the results; if not, the user may decide to seek out the services of another partner service.
The above process is inefficient and potentially burdensome to the user. Further, this process may provide uneven results, as there is no assurance that the user will select the most appropriate partner service to fulfill the user's processing needs.